Retake reach
by LiamG124
Summary: this is my attempt of a story about an ODST squad helping with the reclamation of reach after the human covenant war
1. Chapter 1

**George O'Neil **

**7 days before mission start  
**

it was mid afternoon on the UNSC ship the Hammer of dawn and Sergeant George O'Neil was sitting in the mess listening to another bull shit story told by his good friend corporal Freddie Jones. "So there i was man middle of new Mombasa with nothing but my knife and a magnum with only 4 bullets left, i turned a corner and i crapped myself, i saw 4 no wait 5 brutes, oh yeah and 1 of there chieftains and i thought man I'm fucked might as well go out fighting so i took one out with my magnum and grabbed the spike gun he was using then there chieftain was totally pissed and swung his hammer at me and i was like hey no way asshole and took him and the other brutes out they stood no chance man" said the corporal.  
George chuckled to himself and said "Freddie do you actually ever hear the shit that comes out of your mouth?"  
"no sir i feel it messes with my rhythm" replied the young corporal.  
both of them were ODST's they met during training and bunked together.

Then a young Woman in her early to mid twenties walked over to the 2 marines and said "hey guys how you doing?"  
"fine Ash, you seen Gunny around?" replied George with a smile on his face the girl was Lance Corporal Ashley Marciano an ODST like them she was the only woman in the squad and was also in a relationship with the sergeant the only person who knew about it was Freddie but he never said anything about the 2 of them.  
"why'd you wanna see him?" asked Ashley.  
"I'm sick of sharing this damn ship with the elites they're practically responsible for reaches destruction so why should we trust them to help us reclaim it?" asked George angrily.  
"Look no matter what happened were allied with them now, no amount of complaining to Gunny will change that" said Ashley placing her hand on Georges shoulder.  
"i guess you're right Ash come on Freddie lets check if Gunny needs us to do anything" said George getting to his feet and wiping crumbs off his uniform

as the 2 friends walked down the hallway they noticed a recruit carrying an unusual amount of equipment who approached the 2 marines "hey, hi excuse me I'm looking for Gunnery sergeant bush with the 319 ODST squad" the marine read it off the holo card in his hand.  
George sighed "yeah were with the 319 I'm sergeant O'Neil this is corporal Jones we'll take you to Gunny he'll fill you in" said George continuing down the hall way with freddie and the so far unnamed rookie.  
"so Rook whats your story you been an ODST long?"asked George.  
"no sir reach will the first time Ive dropped into a combat zone i mean i dropped in training and stuff but never into live fire situations" replied the rookie throwing his duffel bag over his shoulder.  
Great this kids as green as grass and were supposed to trust him with our lives thought George continuing down the hall.  
the 3 soldiers walked in silence for the next few minutes till they reached the Gunnery Sergeants office.

the 3 marines entered the gunnery sergeants office, Gunnery sergeant Chuck bush was a tall man easily 6,5 maybe 6,6 with short Dark hair,he sat at his desk filling in reports on his squad when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.  
"hey Gunny we've got a new recruit whats he supposed to be Vic's replacement?" asked George with a noticeably angry tone in his voice.  
the gunnery sergeant sighed and sat up to face the 3 marines, "look George Ive told you already vic's gonna be up on his feet in a few weeks no ones replacing him if you need to know ONI have decided to increase squad size" said the Gunnery sergeant standing.

the rookie stood to attention and saluted the Gunnery sergeant,"sir Lance corporal Miles reporting for Duty sir" said the rookie.  
the gunnery sergeant took a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket along with a lighter with the ODST flag inscribed on it he slowly put a cigarette in his mouth lighting it and said "you gotta fist name Miles?" asked the sergeant.  
"yes sir its Daniel" said the rookie.  
"well Daniel welcome to the Hell jumpers as you probably already know this ship along with 5 others will be a part of the reclamation of reach 1 week from now so get all the training in you can and see the ships Quarter master about getting you some proper ODST Armour" said the gunnery sergeant.  
"yes sir" said the rookie saluting the Gunnery sergeant and walking out of the room.

Hey guys this is my attempt about the story of reach being reclaimed after the human covenant war this is the first Chapter might do more if i get positive feed back


	2. Chapter 2

**George O'Neil **

**5 days before mission start**

2 days had passed since the arrival of Lance corporal Daniel Miles although most of the squad referred to him as the rookie. George was in the mess sitting with his back to the wall his entire squad was sitting at the table with him, there was Freddie his good friend and also demolitions expert he was round about the same age as George with buzzed blonde hair, then there was Private Giles no one knew his first name and there was a pot going round for anyone who could find out what it was, he was team sniper he hardly ever spoke freddie had came up with the phrase silent and deadly after the sniper had fit a custom suppressor on his rifle, he was average height with thick black hair which he always had to have combed to one side. to Georges right was the teams heavy weapons specialist staff sergeant Jaek Matuba he was originally from Africa a prince if you believe the bullshit Freddie said he was huge nearly 7,0 he was a lot older then the others in the squad easily 40-50 years old his hair was black but was starting to go grey from old age he may have been a lot older then everyone but as he insisted on reminding them how he beat them all in the ships physical fitness Sim, then there was Ashley she was the teams tech expert put a computer in her hands and she could make it sing she grew up with George both Georges father and Ashley's mother served together so they lived on the same colony as kids she had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes.

as the squad sat eating and chatting there commanding officer Gunnery sergeant bush walked in he walked up to the squad and said "hey come on now ladies into the training Sims its been too long since any of you have seen any combat we need to rectify that, Marciano i need to see you in my office its important". George looked at Ashley then towards Gunny what did he want Ashley for did he know what was going on between them, he shook his head trying not to think of it he needed to get to the combat Sims like Gunny had said. He slowly got to his feet and started walking with the rest of the squad to the Simulation room he walked with Freddie and Jaek, George never really noticed how tall Jaek was until he was standing next to him George was 6,0 and was practically dwarfed by Jaek. They arrived at the simulation room and started putting there Armour on and picked there weapons George took an assault rifle and a Magnum, Freddie took a battle rifle and a grenade launcher, the rest of the squad picked there weapons George looked over one last time to Jaek who was loading an ammunition belt into his custom Gatling gun it reminded him of one a spartan he saw once used but he couldn't be sure he put his helmet on and entered the Sim with his squad.

**Ashley Marciano  
**

**5 days before mission start**

Ashley stepped into the Gunnery sergeants office she had never really been in here before it was quite a small room with a desk with a few posters and pictures she studied one of the pictures it was of the gunnery sergeant, George and someone she didn't recognize. "Sir who is this in the picture with you?" asked Ashley looking back to bush.  
"that's Admiral O'Neil well back then it was just captain but come on Ash take a seat" said bush Sitting back in his chair. Ashley sat down on the chair she looked at the sergeant he was searching through his drawer for something he found it and put it on the desk it was an envelope addressed to her. " Ash i need to know something are you and sergeant O'Neil in a relationship?" asked Bush.  
Ashley could tell what was coming next so she answered truthfully if she was going to get transferred she was going to do it with her head high, "yes Sir me and the sergeant are in a relationship i understand if you have to transfer me sir" said Ashley with a lump in her throat.  
"Look Ashley the UNSC's rules on fraternization are clear but as you know I've never been a fan of rules when it comes to the UNSC just keep it under the radar and I'll allow it, oh and before i forget this letter came for you it came from...it came from a UNSC prisoner i think you should take it somewhere more private" said Bush handing the letter to Ashley.  
"yes sir thank you sir" said Ashley standing up and walking out of the office, she walked for what felt like a decade then she reached her room she opened the door and sat on the cot, she ran the letter in her hands for a few minutes then she decided to open it.

_**Dear Ashley **_

_**I've been trying to write you this letter for 14 years today is my last chance, this afternoon i will pay for my mistakes with my life its only fair. As you know if you've read the papers my life as a mercenary and all the pain I've caused, most of it is true. I should regret it all, i should be scared of dying, but I'm not i can't be anymore the only feeling i have left is regret, regret that I'll never get to know you you're all that matters I'm sorry i never understood that sooner, I just wanted you to know that all the bad things I've done never stopped me from loving you.  
**_

_**your father Jonas** **Marciano**  
_

Ashley sat and stared at the letter and her eyes filled with tears she barely knew her father he was hardly around when she was a kid but now she couldn't stop thinking of him. She laid back in her cot for a few hours and stared at the ceiling after that she then checked the clock 1900 hours round about the time the squad would have finished up with the training Sim she got up and walked out of the door she looked back to the letter on her bed the walked down the hall towards the mess hall.

**Freddie Jones **

**5 days before mission start**

freddie was in line waiting for food whilst the rest of the squad sat at the same table they always sat at freddie grabbed his food and was making his way to the table when someone bumped into him, freddie ignored them and was making his way to the table when he heard a voice behind him  
"hey marine i think you owe me an apology" said the person who had bumped into freddie,  
freddie sighed and turned around, the guy he had bumped into was wearing an officers uniform, but freddie wasn't going to let him talk to him like that.  
"why should i apologize you bumped into me" freddie turned back around to go to the table when the officer said "that's the thing with marines trained to kill means they've got no manners".  
Freddie dropped his tray on a near table and turned to face the officer  
"what trooper did i make you angry? you gonna hit me?" asked the officer with a smile on his face.  
"no sir you're a superior officer hitting you would be stupid and ODST don't train no dumb troopers" said freddie. "OK then trooper rank is no issue here everyone hear that no matter what happens this trooper can't be court marshaled for what happens".  
"James don't do this" said the officers female companion.  
"come on Maria whats the worst that can..." before the officer could finish his sentence freddie had grabbed him and punched him in the face, the 2 men fought for a minute or 2 before they were both separated by there groups of friends,  
"come on freddie let it go marines and fleet don't mix" said George pulling his friend away from the fight  
"if i see you again I'll fucking kill you" shouted freddie.

The marines were able to calm freddie down and went back to eating there meals they were all laughing and joking about the days event when Ashley had joined the group "hey guys" said Ashley they all either replied or nodded because they were eating.  
"so what did gunny want ash" asked freddie his mouth full of food.  
"oh i just got a letter that's all" replied Ashley.  
"oh that's cool so why didn't you come for the training Sim after" asked freddie  
"i had things to do" said Ashley she couldn't stop thinking of her father why did she care so much, her father was never around when she was a kid she had finished her food but remained in the mess with the others. after about half an hour George and freddie had decided it was time to hit the hay. Ashley walked with them until they reached there room both freddie and George shared a room, It was Georges idea after one night Freddie was caught sleep walking in the armory. The two marines entered the room freddie began reading whilst George was setting up the camera, "sending a vid-mail home?" asked freddie looking at George.  
"yeah its my nieces birthday next week and i doubt we'll get time when were down on reach" said George pressing the record button.  
"Hey Daniele its your uncle George i just wanted to say happy birthday as i won't have a chance soon i don't know if your mum told you but I'm gonna be helping reclaim Reach I hope everyone back home is OK I'll send another Vid-mail Just before i leave, give everyone my love this is George signing off" he stopped the recording and hooked the camera up to the computer.  
"How old is she George?" asked freddie turning the page on the book he was reading.  
"she'll be 14 next Tuesday"said George sending the message.  
"well its time for me to get my beauty sleep not that i need it but you know doesn't hurt to be fresh when i wake up you know" said freddie turning the light off George waiting for the message sent confirmation and laid back in his bed.

**Hey guys this is the second chapter i put a lot more time into it this time the next few chapters will be the team landing on reach and finding each other**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chuck Bush  
**

**10 Minutes before drop**

Gunnery sergeant Chuck Bush was putting on his Armour it was finally time to do this, to drop back down onto reach he cleared his throat and stepped towards the Armory, he picked out an assault rifle and some grenades and headed to his pod picking his helmet up along the way he secured the assault rifle in the pod and turned around to face the squad most of them had finished picking there weapons and Armour and were sitting around waiting for the all clear to drop. "Alright Listen up we're dropping into the city of new Alexandria, we're to assist the marines in reclaiming the city and then wait for orders from the higher ups, any questions? good now get into your pods" the gunnery sergeant stepped into his pod putting his helmet after a couple of seconds his helmets visr lit up, Gunnery Sergeant Chuck Bush service number:118-212A.

Bush leaned back in the pod slowly breathing in and out through his mouth he had done this hundreds of times before but he still hated doing it when he first joined the Hell Jumpers the other guys in his squad had tried to scare him by saying that sometimes the pods break up in atmosphere or land in the water so the troopers inside drowned, even to this day the thought of it scared him half to death. a voice came over the tannoy "ODST pods dropping in 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 pods are away" the pod rumbled as it was jettisoned from the ship gunny kept his eyes closed as the pod dropped further and further down to the planet he heard the pod vi say "entering reach lower atmosphere".

**Daniel "rookie" Miles**

**immediately after drop **

Daniel grunted in pain as his pod hit the ground hard he tried to look out through the glass but it had cracked he hit the eject button on the pod and the door shot off he had dropped right into the city and he was on top of a building he could hear gunfire down on the ground but couldn't make out who it was fighting he walked further across the roof till he had reached an fire exit he forced the door open with his crowbar and opened it to expose an corridor with a set of stairs the corridor was badly lit the corporal turned on the flash light he had on his rifle and preceded down the corridor he thought about the other members of his team they were supposed to regroup outside of the city and then proceed inside but if he was already in the city maybe some others in the squad had too. He quickly walked down the stairs and reached the bottom the door to the street was open he crouched down and made his way to the door the gunfire had stopped, he popped his head out the door and saw a marine being held in the air by a brute, "Last chance human where are your friends?!" "go to hell you big dumb ape" said the marine spitting in the brutes face. The brute was so enraged he threw the marine across the street he hit near to where Daniel was, "spread out find the humans" ordered the brute, Daniel crept over to the marine he was still alive but barely "who..who are you?" asked the marine he was slipping in and out of consciousness."Lance corporal Miles I'm a Hell jumper wheres the rest of your squad?" asked Daniel trying to help the marine with his injuries. "we were falling back to the Alpha FOB when the covies caught up with us they're probably still heading that way i stayed behind to give them time here's the location of the FOB give em hell trooper." the marine head dropped Daniel closed the marines eyes and slowly took cover behind an old car he peered out at the covenant forces most had left but they had left a few grunts behind he threw a grenade which killed the first 3 grunts then he killed the rest with his BR.  
He stared at the map through his visr it painted the FOB as being 1 mile south he sighed 'gonna be a long walk' thought Daniel as he started walking down the abandoned street

**Freddie Jones**

**10 minutes after drop  
**

freddie grunted as he pulled his Assault rifle out of the pod he looked out towards the city he was at least two miles from it so he didn't think he had to worry about any covie attacks he pushed the communicator button on the side of his helmet "anyone out there this is corporal Jones, Gunny, Ash anyone?" he waited for a few seconds then god a reply "Freddie its George I... I'm sort of stuck in my pod emergency release wont work can you give me a hand?" Freddie chuckled to himself before responding "yeah man where are you I'll come and get you". "Not too far from you I'm about half a click east"said George closing the comm freddie sighed and started jogging east till he reached Georges pod. he fixed his assault rifle to his back before walking up to the pod he looked at George and then at the pod it was dead locked the only way to open it was with explosives."ahhh George how much do you trust me?"asked Freddie. "I'm gonna hate myself for asking this but why?"said George. "well i've gotta blow the doors off with explosives and there's a 10 percent chance it'll kill you" said Freddie pulling a small amount of plastic explosive out his pack. George sighed if i don't get out of this pod i'll be dead anyway fine do it" said George. Freddie placed the timer on the explosives and put it in the pod retreating to a safe distance.

The pod shot off sending dust and debris everywhere once the dust had cleared George stepped out walking up to freddie and fist bumping him, "you heard from anyone else?" asked George loading a clip into his assault rifle. "nah comms are jammed up its a Miracle you got through" said freddie laughing. "yeah lets try to get into the City see if we can hook up with the rest of the squad or at least help the marines on the ground" said George motioning to freddie as they both walked towards the city.

**Hey guys sorry its been so long since i last posted a chapter i've been busy with college and completing Halo 4 will try and upload a new chapter every week from now on please R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

**Jaek Matuba **

**30 minutes after drop**

Jaek pulled his helmet off and wiped the sweat from his brow. He dropped the helmet on the floor and sat on a pile of rocks. The area was covered with dead Covenant, mostly grunts, but a few brutes. He pulled a pair of binoculars from his belt and looked through them. He could see into the City and Marines struggling against the Covenant. 'Breaks over' he thought, getting to his feet and picking up his helmet.  
Jaek rushed towards where the Marines were fighting. He felt plasma graze his Armour as he lifted his Gatling gun to fire. He released an entire belt of ammunition into the Covenant, but before he had time to reload, a plasma grenade had landed by his foot. It went off, sending him high into the air.

"Jaek, Jaek can you hear me?"  
Jaek tried to open his eyes but couldn't. It was like they were weighed down by something. He finally gained enough strength to open them & saw George who had taken his helmet off.  
"Hey, Hey don't try and move buddy you're in pretty bad shape" said George pulling a canister of Biofoam from his pack. He put the nozzle of the Biofoam canister into the cracked part of Jaek's Armour. He released the foam causing Jaek to grunt in pain. Jaek was slowly helped to his feet by George and Freddie.  
"Let go I'm fine" said Jaek coughing and pushing the two of them away.  
"No come on now Jaek you need proper medical help we're getting you on a Pelican" said George placing a hand on Jaek's back, Jaek sighed.  
"Fine but i want to walk to it myself".  
Jaek looked on as the Pelican lifted off the Planet. The two troopers were already walking away. He sighed. He wished he could be Planet side helping the squad. He sat back in one of the seats and closed his eyes.

**George O'Neil  
**

**55 minutes after drop**

George watched as the Medical Evac Pelican flew off. He fixed his Helmet to his belt and checked his rifle. He still had 22 bullets. No point of reloading yet. He nudged Freddie on the shoulder and they both approached a group of Marines.  
" Hey where are you guys heading?" asked George placing his Helmet on a supply crate.  
" The Alpha FOB, you guys are welcome to come along if you want".  
"Yeah thanks, how are we gonna get there?" asked freddie depolarizing his helmet.  
"Warthogs my man, we've got about four of em" said one of the Marines getting to his feet. He lead the two Troopers round the corner to where the warthogs were.  
"Freddie take the wheel I'll ride shotgun" said George putting his helmet back on and patting the marine on the shoulder.  
"Alright we're on the move stay frosty people watch out for Covie ambushes" said one of the Marines.  
They drove on for a while looking out for signs of covenant activity but finding nothing.  
"I don't like this its too damn quiet" said the Marine in the gunner seat behind George.  
"Hey look just relax man, our guys have probably already cleared this area of the Covenant" said George resting his assault rifle across his lap.  
"Oh yeah, then were the hell are the bodies?" said the Marine.  
George sighed, he had nothing to say to that the Marine was right this was suspicious. He pulled up a full map of the city on his VISR. They were still half a click away from the FOB. They should get there soon but George was still nervous. The last time he was on reach he was watching it burn. He remembered back before the Covenant attack. He and freddie were part of the bridge burners back then. An ODST squad who specialized in demolition and explosives. He remembered what his squad leader used to say before every mission.  
"Marines don't die we just go to hell to regroup".  
George smiled he remembered everyone in the squad like it was yesterday. He even had a picture of them all somewhere in his Bag on the Hammer Of Dawn.

George looked up again to see they had arrived at the FOB. He hopped off the Warthog. He fixed his Assault rifle to his back and took off his helmet off. His hair was damp with sweat. he wiped his brow and tucked his helmet under his arm. George and freddie began walking through the camp the are was thick with the smell of blood and gunpowder. They went into one of the tents where the Marines were eating. "Think anyone else made it here?" asked Freddie.  
George stared off into space for a few minutes before replying. "Yeah maybe i mean we did right" said George leaning back on a chair. Before the two of them could continue the conversation they were interrupted by a Marine.  
"excuse me are you two with the 319?".  
"ahh yeah thats us" said George standing up.  
"good we've found someone from your squad, I'll take you to see them now" said the Marine motioning the Troopers to move. The three men continued through the base before they arrived in a tent they looked around to see colonel Jack Armstrong and an ODST with his helmet still on. George and freddie both stood to attention and saluted the colonel.  
"At ease men"said the colonel putting his Cigar out in a near by ashtray.  
The unnamed ODST took his helmet off to reveal Lance corporal Daniel Miles.  
"Good to see you Rookie" said George smiling.  
"wheres the rest of your squad sergeant?" asked the Colonel resting his hands against the table.  
"Well our Heavy Weapons specialist is heading back to the Ship for Medical care, and I don't know about anyone else sir" said George placing his helmet on the table  
the colonel sighed, "we've sent out a message for all ODST squads to assemble at this FOB and we've checked the other bases none of them had picked up anyone with the ODST" said the colonel rubbing the back of his neck.  
the three troopers stood together all looking at the colonel."Corporal Harris find a few Marines who aren't shot to shit" said the colonel standing up straight.  
"yes sir" said the Marine saluting the Colonel and leaving the tent.

The Corporal returned a few minutes later with three other Marines.  
"Sergeant O'Neil this men are going to join you to find the rest of your squad you've got two hours rest then i want you out there to look, are we clear?" asked the colonel.  
"Yes sir" said George saluting the colonel.  
"alright dismissed" said the colonel lighting up a cigar.

**Chuck 'Gunny' Bush**

**immediately after Drop  
**

Gunny hit the eject button on the pod and the door flew off he stepped out and grabbed his Assault rifle from the pod he had landed in a back alley in the city he was way off course he was supposed to land in the fields outside the city and join up with the rest of his squad. He walked down the alley towards the street he pressed up against a wall and peered around a corner no signs of Covenant or Human forces. he slipped out and started to walk down the street he looked down on the ground to see an old street sign. He was on 31st street. He remembered living near here when he was younger. He thought about going to see his childhood home for a few minutes then decided to do it. Gunny slipped in between destroyed cars and rubble before he reached his childhood home miraculously it was still standing he approached the door and punched in the code to unlock the door. The door opened to reveal a dark Living room covered in dust and some rubble from explosions. He Leaned his assault rifle against a wall and went over to the mantle piece. he picked up a picture of the mantle and smiled. It was a picture of him and his three brothers and his father.  
"don't move Human" Gunny felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around to see a group of brutes towering above him. He was too far away to reach his rifle to grab it. one of the brutes swung a fist towards Gunny which hit sending him flying he landed against a wall. His head felt like it had been smashed with a sledgehammer but before he could get back to his feet he lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was being dragged away by a Brute.

**Hey Guys had a day off today so have been working on this chapter let me know what you think by messaging me or reviewing also If anyone would like to help with the story that would be cool credit will of course be given so yeah let me know what you guys think **


	5. Chapter 5

**Private Giles**

**2 hours and 30 minutes after drop**

Giles sighted down his scope, watching the Covenant. Most of them were Brutes, a few Jackals and one or two Grunts. He noticed one of the Brutes was dragging something along. It was ODST, missing his helmet. Giles zoomed in to see the trooper closer. It was Gunny.  
Giles moved over to the next building to get a better view. He saw a Squad of Marines ahead of the Covenant. They were going to walk right into them. He crouched down steadying the sniper rifle. The Marines on the ground had spotted the Covenant and opened fire. Giles aimed his rifle at the Brute still holding Gunny and sniped him with a head shot. The Covenant scattered after the Brute fell and it made it easier for Giles. He finished off the Covenant then made his way towards the fire exit.

Giles walked out the building, the sun reflecting off his visor. He made his way towards where the Brute he had sniped earlier had fell. He saw an arm sticking out from under the Brutes body.  
"Gunny you alright?" asked Giles placing his rifle on the ground.  
"No, get this thing off me!" shouted Gunny his voice muffled by the huge Brutes body.  
Giles grunted as he rolled the huge ape like creature off of Gunny.  
Giles offered Gunny his hand and helped him to his feet. The group of Marines that had fought the Covenant had joined them. Among them was three ODST'S. Gunny's face was badly bruised and swollen he looked over to the three troopers who depolarized their helmets.  
"Gunny? Damn what the hell happened to you?" asked George taking off his helmet.  
"Had a run in with some Brutes, they messed me up pretty bad" said Gunny leaning against a car.  
Giles depolarized his helmet and nodded at the three other ODST's who all did the same.  
"Come on Sir. We should get you back to the FOB, let the Doc's take a look at you" said Daniel, offering Gunny his Magnum. Gunny took the gun from him and they began to make there way back the way they came.

**Ashley Marciano **

**1 hour after drop  
**

Ashley regained consciousness. Her pod was in pretty bad shape and so was she. She felt a sharp pain down her right side. She hit the eject button on the pod which came off easily. She fell to to the ground, the pain down her side was worse now. She tried to stand up but the pain was too much. She remained there, on her hands and knees for a few minutes, trying to see if the pain stopped. She took off the pack on her back and searched in it until she found what she was looking for. She took the morphine out of the Medical pack and injected it into her right side.  
She waited until the morphine had kicked in then got to her feet. She took her SMG out from the pod which was specially designed with a silencer for the ODST's. Ashley stared off into the City for a moment. She was out cold for an hour at least. What if the rest of the squad thought she was dead or were dead themselves. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think like that.  
She walked through the burned fields outside of the city it was strange to her. It had been two years since the Covenant had first attacked Reach. She remembered being posted in a small settlement to the north called Cliffton. It was a small Farming settlement. Marines were stationed there to protect the Farmers from insurrectionist attacks. She remembered playing in fields like these when she was younger. Not on Reach but on Veri Prime. Ashley was born there and grew up with George. She remembered one time before her Mother and Georges Father shipped out. They were Both in High School at the time. George held her hand as the Pelican flew out of sight. He smiled at her and said everything was going to be OK.

She had arrived in the city. There were Marines ahead of her under heavy fire. She sprinted over too them and took cover behind some sandbags.  
"Wheres the rest of your team trooper?" asked the Marine next to her.  
"Dead or missing, i don't know" replied Ashley returning fire at the Covenant.  
"Too bad. We're gonna need all the ODST's we can get" said the Marine loading a fresh clip into his assault rifle.  
the Covenant were moving closer and closer to the Marines line of defense.  
"Sir, we're gonna be overrun, we need to retreat" said one of the Marines turning to the marine next to Ashley.  
"No we hold the line" replied the Commanding officer.  
Then, out of nowhere, an Elite squad arrived. They cut through the Covenant like their Armour was made of butter. Once the fighting had ceased Ashley stood up. She heard the Commanding Officer mumble under his breath.  
"Damn hingeheads think their goddamn heroes".

One of the Elites approached the Marines. "Humans we saw you were having trouble with these whelps" the Elite laughed as if mocking the fact the Marines couldn't deal with them.  
"I'll have you know we had the situation at hand we were leading them into an ambush, which you Hingeheads messed up." said the Commanding Officer standing toe to toe with the Elite.  
The Elite growled angrily at the Marine before another Elite stepped between them both.  
"Enough brother. We did not come to fight our allies" said the Elite pushing the two apart.

The other Elite fell back in line with his comrades.  
"Allow me to introduce myself Human. I am Keda K'Tarlou. I was an acting, what is that Human word you use for your superior beings?" asked the Elite  
"An Officer" replied Ashley removing her helmet.  
"Yes. That is the word. I was an Officer of the Elites aboard your Human ship, The Defiant. And may i say you handle yourself well in battle. For a Woman" said Keda. Ashley was sure there was a back handed compliment in there somewhere. She turned away to face the Human Officer.  
"Sir. What do we do now?"

"Now we head to the nearest FOB and await further orders" replied the Commanding Officer heading towards a Warthog. Ashley followed the so far unnamed Marine into a Warthog. She took the passenger seat and he was driving. The Elites had also decided to join them. Their 'Officer' Keda had maned the heavy turret on the back of the Warthog.  
"So whats your name Trooper?" asked the Commanding Officer turning a corner.  
"Lance Corporal Ashley Marciano, Sir" replied Ashley resting her helmet on her lap.  
"Huh, I knew someone with that name once"said the Officer.  
"I didn't catch your name Sir" said Ashley turning her head to face him.  
"My names Michael, Gunnery sergeant Micheal O'Neil"said the Officer smiling.  
"Oh my God, you're Georges older brother. Its me little Ash, the one who used to hang out with George.  
Michael laughed. "Really, shit how is George? I ain't seen him since Earth was attacked" said Michael putting his foot down on the accelerator.  
"Last time I saw him he was OK" replied Ashley staring down at her helmet.  
"Wait. What the hell do you mean last time you saw him?" asked Michael raising his voice.  
"Our pods dropped in different places. Plus I was knocked out for at least an hour" replied Ashley.

The Warthog came to a stop outside the FOB. Ashley stepped out of the Warthog and made her way into the base alongside Michael.  
"Welcome to the Bravo FOB Ashley" said Michael placing his rifle on his back.  
"Thanks any chance anyone from my squad could have made it here?" asked Ashley strapping her helmet to her belt.  
"I don't know, maybe" replied Michael increasing the pace of his walk.  
"Look Ash I'll check in with you after, I've...I've gotta hand in these tags" said Michael looking down at the Dog Tags in his hand.  
Ashley nodded turning away from him and made her way into the temporary mess hall they had made up out of tents. She sat down and buried her head in her hands she was tired and the morphine was starting to wear off.  
"Excuse me, are you with the 212?" asked a Marine bending over to get eye contact with Ashley.  
"No I'm with the 319 has anyone come though from my squad?" asked Ashley looking up at the Marine.  
the marine checked his holo pad.  
"No sorry no one with the 319 here" said the Marine focusing on the pad.  
"don't worry though I'm sure they made it to one of the other FOB's" said the Marine with a reassuring smile.  
Ashley sighed.  
"Thanks for checking" said Ashley she sat back up in the Chair. She watched as the Marine made his way to the other ODST's in the room. The pain was getting worse in her ribs. She decided it was probably time to see the camps medic. She got to her feet and made her way towards the Medical tent

**Jaek Matuba  
****Hammer Of Dawn  
1 hour after Injury  
**

Jaek laid back on the Medical wing bed.  
The Doctor walked in checking his note on his holo pad. He stopped by Jaek.  
"Staff Sergeant Matuba, I've got your notes here. Alright looks like you should make a full recovery and be up and fighting in a few days" said the Doctor.  
"I should not be stuck in this bed like I am. I should be on the ground fighting with my squad" said Jaek.  
"With all due respect Sergeant you're lucky to be making any type of recovery. A man of your age i mean you're 45. You should start taking it easy. Hell maybe even think of leaving the Military, or take a desk job. But you've been through a lot already I'll let you rest" said the Doctor walking towards his next patient.  
Jaek turned his head towards the Nurse who had handed him some painkillers.  
"Can i get up and explore the ship?" asked Jaek sitting up to take the painkillers.  
"Of course sergeant just let one of us know" said the Nurse walking away.

Jaek got to his feet and made his way towards the door. He began to walk down the corridor the Doctors words still on his mind.  
Maybe the Doctor was right maybe it was time to think about slowing down.  
Jaek approached the door to an office.  
The sign on the door read  
'Lieutenant-Commander Benjamin Peters'.  
Jaek sighed and entered the office saluting the Commander as he did.  
"Ah Sergeant Matuba, I see your out of the Medical wing. Have you reconsidered that promotion I offered you?" asked the Lieutenant-Commander standing up.  
"Yes Sir thats why i have come" replied Jaek.  
"Ah good now you know this promotion will take you out of the field don't you?" asked the Commander resting his hands on the table.  
"Yes Sir i understand, but I'm not as young as i used to be.  
I need to think about turning my skills to helping on a larger scale" said Jaek moving closer to the Lieutenant-Commanders desk.  
"Good choice, now for now you realize the promotion is just for show you won't actually be a real Lieutenant until we get back to Earth" said the officer offering Jaek his hand.  
Jaek stared at the officers hand.  
Was this what he really wanted? He spent years turning down promotions. Just so he could remain in the field. Jaek swallowed hard and shook the Commanders hand.

**George O'Neil**

**2 Hours and 10 minutes after drop  
**

George turned the corner pointing his assault rifle down the street.  
"Rookie see whats ahead" said George turning to Daniel.  
"Yes Sir" said Daniel moving further up the street.  
The Marines who were with the ODST's had already gone ahead.  
"Ah Sergeant O'Neil we've got a problem" said Daniel over the Comms.  
"What is it Rookie?" asked George sighing and lowering his assault rifle.  
"Streets blocked Sir we'll need to find another way around" said Daniel.  
George and freddie jogged to where Daniel was.  
The three marines brought up their maps trying to see if there was any back alleys they could use.  
"I got nothing" Said Freddie leaning back on a wall.  
"Same here" said George sighing.  
"Sir I have an idea" said Daniel standing up straight.  
"What you got Rook" said George moving closer to Daniel.  
"We cut through the buildings. That door over there is unlocked Sir we can cut through the building easily" said Daniel.  
"Good job Rookie" said George patting Daniel on the shoulder and moving towards the building.

The door opened there was no lights in the building the three Troopers turned on the flashlights on their guns. They proceeded down the corridor steadying there rifles. George checked his VISR to see where the Marines were. They were slowly moving towards the Idris hotel. The rally point where they were all supposed to meet up was there. If they hadn't found anyone official orders were to abandon the search and return to the FOB. But George never really was a fan of official orders.  
"Sergeant O'Neil" said the Marines squads commanding officer over the Comms.  
"What is it Corporal?" asked George as he stopped walking.  
"we're at the rally point Sir" said the Corporal.  
"Alright we're nearly there. Did you find anyone Corporal?"asked George forcing the door in front of him open.  
"No ODST's Sir but we did pick up a few other Marines" said the Corporal.  
George walked out of the door leading out into the street.  
"Alright hold position ETA 2 minutes" said George.  
"Alright guys we need to pick up the pace the Corps ain't paying us by the hour lets get it done and go home" said George beginning to jog towards the Marines location.

The three Trooper arrived at the Marines location.  
"Sergeant these are all the men we could find, but like i said Sir we didn't find any ODST's" said the Marine.  
"Alright then we should head back" said George sighing.  
"Sir Covies dead ahead" shouted one of the Marines  
George lifted up his assault rifle.  
"Open fire" said George squeezing the trigger letting out a burst of assault rifle fire.  
The marines had taken cover behind some wrecked cars. As George loaded a fresh clip into his rifle a sniper shot rang out across the street.  
"Who the hell was that?" asked freddie peering over the side of the car.  
"No idea but keep your fucking head down" said George blind firing into the Covenant.  
George stepped out from cover and fired on the last Brute taking it down with well placed rounds to the chest.

**Hey Guys this is the next chapter. I was going to do more work on it and then put it up but can't really think of anything to add at the moment. Let me know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions for other Characters to put in. Also if anyone is good at Drawing I would like someone to do a cool drawing for the story. R&R or message me with your Ideas.**


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